The Shipwreck of Essex and the Resort to Cannibalism

Tales of shipwrecks are often sad, but I’d bet money that this one is the most macabre and gruesome in history. The sea vessel _Essex_ sailed from Nantucket to waters off the coast of South America in search of lucrative whales. 20 men were on board the boat, which ended up rounding Cape Horn and heading into the Pacific, since much of the whale population on the Atlantic had diminished.

On November 20, 1820, the _Essex_ was attacked by an enormous sperm whale. The whale managed to strike two blows at the ship, which damaged it so much that the sailors had to quickly pile as many food and supplies as they could onto three small whaleboats. They were thousands of miles off the coast of South America and had little food and fresh water.

The leader, Captain Pollard, realized that the closest land were the Marquesas islands. However, most of the crew were too frightened to go there because they had heard rumors of cannibalism among the indigenous peoples. (Karma alert) Instead, they opted to try for South America — a distance twice as far.

By the end of January, the surviving men were dying. Faced with imminent starvation, the sailors determined to draw lots to see which of them should be killed and made into food so that the others would survive. The Captain’s 18-year old cousin drew the first lot, and although Pollard offered himself up in his cousin’s place, the young man refused and was shot and eaten by the others. Cannibalism was thus how the men survived.

Only eight men lived through the ordeal. The picture you see here is the oldest extant rendition of the whale attack upon _Essex_. The story horrified and captured the attention of many, including Herman Melville, who was inspired enough by the events to write his epic tale, _Moby Dick_.